The Earl's Entanglement (Border Series Book 5)(41)

She waited for him to continue, still unmoving.

“I encouraged him to come with me. My mother begged for him to stay. Neither of us listened.”

And so he thought it was his fault his father had been killed. This was the weight he carried on his shoulders.

“Garrick, you didn’t—”

“If I hadn’t talked him into coming, he would still be the earl.” He looked at her with such pain in his eyes. “I would be—”

“Garrick Clave, listen to me.”

When she grabbed both of his hands, a jolt ran through her. The spark in his eye assured her that he felt it too.

“You did not kill your father.”

He tried to pull away, but Emma would not allow it.

“You say he was the strongest man you knew. Not the kind of man to be swayed against his will.”

“But he may never have—”

She used Sara’s tone. “You did not kill your father,” she repeated. “The day my parents were killed, I asked my brother to take me to the market for new ribbons. My uncle Hugh decided to join us, so two of the best Waryn fighters were not there to defend Bristol when it was attacked. For years, Bryce blamed himself for leaving. But it was not his fault. It was not my fault. Your father’s death is not your fault, Garrick.”

She reached up and cradled his face as he’d done to her twice before.

“Please believe me. I speak from experience.”

His eyes widened, and he leaned down and kissed her. His lips moved over hers like a bolt of velvet, soft and sensual. Emma kissed him back, and for the first time, it was she who moved to deepen the kiss. She opened for him, and he took her invitation. His tongue moved over hers, pulling her with him, drowning her under a wave of passion that forced her arms around him.

His lips moved from her mouth to her neck. She lifted her head and allowed herself to lean back into his arms, arching her body against him.

“The sweetest taste in the world.” His mouth moved lower, kissing her collarbone and the soft flesh beneath it.

But then he stopped and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly to him, much as he’d done on their rides these last few days. But this time, there was nowhere for her to fall.

Or was there?

She turned her head sideways, laying her cheek on his chest. Inhaling deeply, Emma pushed even closer to him.

“I can’t let you go,” she said.

“Tonight?”

Nay, that was not what she had meant.

But saying more seemed silly. He was to be married. He was a man of honor and he’d made a pledge.

“You are an extraordinary woman, Emma Waryn.”

She moved even closer to him.

I love you.

The words sat on the edge of her lips. Nothing had ever felt so right. Because it was true. Emma had seen love before. Her brothers had found it, and now she had as well. But her story would not end happily.

He pulled away to look at her.

“Love me, Garrick.” It was not what she wanted to say, but it would have to do.

“Emma, no, I—”

“The way you did that night.”

Wrapped in each other’s arms, they stood motionless, eyes locked.

Emma waited.

“I am a virgin still,” she said, breaking the silence at last. “And will be one when I leave. What harm is there—”

“What harm? Emma, we should not be here. Your brother—”

“Is sleeping with his wife.” The wife he loves. “My maid knows what to say if either of them—”

“Your maid knows?” He pulled away then, and the look of horror on his face made her smile.

“Of course she does. Edith knows everything. And I trust her with my life.”

Trust me with yours.

He took a moment to consider the idea. Did he not have any friends whom he trusted implicitly? But there was no time to think on it further. No time to ask him. His expression changed in a moment.

“I want nothing more than to make you scream with pleasure,” he said, his voice husky.

He was going to do it.

“To watch your face,” he said, reaching for the ties that bound her gown together in the front, “and feel your soft flesh beneath my fingers.”

As the ties loosened, her chest felt unaccountably tighter rather than the opposite.

She’d changed into a simple undertunic and kirtle, which threatened to come undone at any moment.

At last, it was completely untied. The neckline, wide enough to fit over her shoulders, was easy prey for him. Garrick tugged with both hands, widening it even more. He guided her arms through the sleeves until the royal blue material lay in a puddle at her feet. She stepped over it as Garrick kicked the discarded kirtle to the side.

Wordlessly, he lifted the ivory undertunic over her head. She reached up her arms to assist him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Everything but Garrick ceased to exist.

Standing before him in nothing but a shift, Emma moved to cover her breasts, which peeked out behind the thin material. Garrick would have none of it. He grabbed her wrists and guided them behind her back. Still holding them there, he moved toward her.

He kissed her, first on the lips and then the neck, and moved lower, his lips trailing a path between her breasts, where the material dipped and allowed him access. When he stood and released her wrists, his movement was so sudden Emma didn’t have time to prepare.